Saturday Post -- 09/04/11

Important developments on the visa front this week, though like a big tin of Christmas Celebrations, it’s decidedly mixed. The Galaxy Truffle is that my two-year extension came through, meaning I have permission to stay here till March 2013 and, best of all, I have my passport back in one piece. Meanwhile, Amanda’s news is the Topic lounging desolately at the bottom of the tin around Valentine’s Day. Her visa application was returned to Trinidad due to a perceived inconsistency in her application. Her Bolivian I.D. card states that she’s an administrator, whereas her work letter states that she’s a nurse (in reality, of course, she’s both). So we were initially pretty frustrated, but we are told that we should know within the next couple of weeks whether the re-submitted work letter and judicial statement have done the trick.

But I couldn’t put my feet up quite yet. Upon successfully receiving my new visa, I had 25 days to apply for my new I.D. card, or I would be charged a fine, which would increase on a daily basis. Two of the certificates which were required for this were the same for which we had to provide stacks of paperwork from all sorts of different people and organisations in our visa application. Happily, the chap who produced these for us told me the information he had on file would suffice, and so I was able to submit my I.D. card application at the expense of just a couple of work mornings (a new personal best there). However, I’ve been advised to wait 3-4 months for the plastic itself! Of course, a decade ago, it was produced there and then for you with the help of some cardboard, a passport photo and a laminator. Only in Bolivia could the so-called digital age complicate things even further.

The English classes have brought further encouragement this week, with around half-a-dozen new students turning up for the second modules, which began this week. And crucially, in contrast to last year, we haven’t lost many students. Last week we had been a little concerned that those who didn’t pass the exam would call it a day, but the majority of those have returned and are keen to keep going.

Another key ministry for us as a couple is the young people’s group in the church on Saturday evenings. And this weekend we start a short series focusing on Easter. Last year, if we’re honest, Easter was a little underwhelming. It was simply another regular Sunday service, and it seems it has been this way for several years now. The church are keen to change this and use the Easter service as an evangelistic event. And to encourage families and friends to come along, the young people will be preparing a couple of items. One is a drama set to music told from the perspective of one of the soldiers guarding the tomb. The other is a simple choral performance of the contemporary favourite ‘Worthy is the Lamb’ (Thank you for the Cross) in Spanish. Now the locals here love their music but, truth be told, they’re not too gifted vocally. So I’ve manfully volunteered to take charge of the operation, though we’ll keep ourselves limited to the melody. It’s a great song, however, and I pray that the youth would feel blessed by the opportunity to perform it.

More importantly, we pray that the significance of Easter would become clear to them. And, to that end, we’re focusing on three important aspects of Easter over the next three Saturdays. I’m kicking things off by looking at Jesus’ trial and its importance, e.g., the difference for our lives between Jesus being innocent and guilty. Please pray especially for these next three Saturdays. Rare is the Saturday evening that a new face wanders in (this being Bolivia, usually halfway through the evening!) and we know there are several in the group who have not yet accepted Christ as their saviour. Furthermore, many of the young people who are Christians would struggle to explain what being a Christian means and why, for example, Christ had to die – for most of them, their experience of the Christian faith is strongly tied to their experience of having grown up in the church. Pray that, by thinking about these things for themselves (something which is not encouraged in the educational system here), these young people would develop a firmer faith foundation.

Prayer
• For the Easter series with the young people.
• For Amanda’s re-submitted visa application.

Praise
• For new faces – and new opportunities – at the English classes.
• For the granting of Craig’s two-year extension.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda